Our Spanish class at the adult school ends with half an hour of "intercambios." The Spanish learners and the English learners get together for conversations. Fifteen minutes in English and 15 minutes in Spanish. While it is hard for me to make conversation with strangers (no matter what language!), I must say that it is one of the most interesting parts of the class. I have met so many interesting people.
There is a stereotype about Spanish speaking people who are living here in the US (maybe you noticed you had a different reaction to my phrase "English learners" above than you would have if I said Spanish speakers?). In California, as the Latino population has grown, the tension about Spanish speakers (bilingual or not) has grown as well. And, of course, when hearing someone speak in a language that they are not fluent in, it reinforces the idea that they are not educated. However, when speaking to them in their primary language, it is easier to see how articulate they are or that they have a wonderful sense of humor or how passionate they are about a topic they love. Their human qualities dominate and the stereotypes have to fall away.
While studying at the adult school (which has free English instruction) I have met a couple about my age from Vera Cruz who share many of my values, some twenty somethings from Michoacan who are just deciding what they want to do with their lives, a Spanish wine maker, a Venezuelan surfer, and many, many people who dream of moving from the adult school to college. We also have a group (who is there varies from week to week) that meets at a local coffee shop for conversation. We are usually there for 3+ hours. The group has been going since April. A few of us were talking and were remarking how we have never run out of things to talk about in all that time.
¡Qué bueno son los intercambios. Nos hacen más humanos.
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